Public fire back on opposition's counterproductive actions: Analyst

The latest opinion poll from the University of Hong Kong shows four out of the five most favored legislators come from the pro-establishment camp. One political analyst interprets the results as a rejection by voters of the opposition camp's destructive filibusters and efforts to sabotage the administration have backfired.

Chan Yuen-han of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, one of the five "super lawmakers", one of the five "super lawmakers" of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, was ranked highest among all lawmakers with a score of 57.7 out of 100. She was followed by Legislative Council (LegCo) President Jasper Tsang Yuk-shing, who scored 57.5.

The duo were the only two LegCo members who actually gained popularity from the previous survey conducted in October.

The two pro-establishment parties that have strived for middle class support have apparently scored well with respondents, too.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee of the New People's Party, and also a member of the Executive Council, was the third most popular lawmaker scoring 53.9. James Tien Pei-chun, honorary chairman of the Liberal Party, took fourth place with a rating of 52.7.

It was also Tien's first appearance on the top 10 since his return to the legislature last October. He and Paul Tse Wai-chun replaced two opposition lawmakers who had appeared on the previous list.

The two-stage popularity poll of legislators was conducted by the Public Opinion Program of the University of Hong Kong in January. The first stage screened the 10 best known lawmakers, while the second went on to survey their ratings with the public. Just over 1,000 respondents were reached in each stage.

In between the two surveys, the LegCo had been overwhelmed by filibusters over the Old Age Living allowance scheme and several motions tabled by the opposition aimed at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

The opposition does not appear to have gained from the attacks, however. All five opposition lawmakers who made the top 10 list suffered from ratings decline, all failing to score over 50.

The radicals suffered most. While many respondents were able to name Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Long Hair", and two lawmakers from People Power, they all scored under 40. They all registered rating drops well beyond the statistical sampling errors for the poll.

Albert Chan Wai-yip, for instance, lost over six points from the October survey and received the lowest rating of 34.7.

James Sung Lap-kung, a political analyst from the City University of Hong Kong, said certain pro-establishment lawmakers are more favored by the public because of their reasonable approach to government policies.

"Many of their criticisms of policies were reasonable and backed by facts. The people actually favor this rational approach," said Sung.

On the other hand, Sung believes people are frustrated with the counterproductive actions of the opposition, including the filibusters of the elderly allowance that eventually resulted in a loss of two months' payments to seniors.

Maneuvers such as these, Sung contended, hurt the opposition. "People dislike opposition for the sake of opposing," said Sung. "It shows the mainstream rejects vexatious arguments."

kahon@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/25/2013 page1)